Tales of Lyra
by Laurie
Summary: Just where Amber Spyglass left off-Lyra gets the first glimpse of her new school and sees a woman who resembles her mother


Tales of Lyra  
  
Disclaimer: The characters, etc. belong to Mr. Phillip Pullman, not me, of course.  
  
The tangy taste of blood filled Lyra's mouth as  
she made her way into the carriage with Dame Hannah.   
A small suitcase with her few belongings were taken by  
the carriage driver as she went inside the carriage   
with Pan at her side. She was extremely nervous,   
though she had done many things much more frightening  
in her life than visit a girls' boarding school.  
"It will not take us long to get to the school. At most it may take us a half an hour. Hopefully we shall be in time for the welcoming ceremony," explained Dame Hannah.   
Lyra took a long look at the Master of Jordan College. To her, he looked elderly and very weary. He wore a forced semi-happy look on his face.  
"Lyra, we will indeed miss you. You have always  
given us enjoyment, and although the servants and staff  
quarrel with you, they will miss you a great deal. If  
you ever need anything, Lyra, do not hesitate to ask.   
And you will always be welcome here. Good luck, Lyra,  
my child." The Master gave Lyra a quick handshake.   
Lyra did not know what to say or do. This man   
had cared for her even more than her real parents ever   
had. He had raised her and treated her as he would his  
own child. But Lyra knew she was not leaving him   
forever. She knew she would be back someday.  
"Good-bye, Master. I will make sure Lyra is in   
good hands," said Dame Olga.  
"Good-bye, Dame Olga." The carriage started off  
and left behind Jordan College and the Master.  
Dame Hannah asked her questions for the first  
few minutes into the journey to which Lyra responded  
with simple nods.  
"Cheer up, Lyra. Soon you will make many new   
girlfriends, I can assure you. And you will be   
challenged there also. If there is anything you need  
to tell me, you may always write to me." Dame Olga   
handed her a small book. "This is an address book.   
Write down all of the names of your new friends there.  
My name has already been written. I will be remaining  
at the school for a few days."  
"Thank you, Dame Olga, for setting everything up  
for me and Pan. We're gonna try our best to make   
friends, en't we Pan?"   
"I remind you not to use en't at school."  
"Oops. Sorry about that. I en't used to   
talking all proper and stuff."  
"I understand. Now we should be arriving soon.  
Would you like to freshen up?"  
Dame Olga handed Lyra a mirror. Lyra gazed into   
her reflection. She was very proud of her appearance.   
She and one of the servants, Marianna, had washed and   
sewn the clothes Will had bought in Cittagazze.   
The green tank had been sewn into a full-sleeved shirt  
and the khaki skirt had been restitched. Her hair was  
washed with a special honey suckle perfume and smelled  
beautiful.   
The carriage had arrived at the gate of the   
school. A sign in front of the tall open gates read  
"Giovanna Girls' Academy." The school itself was a   
very large, mansion, with white pillars and grape vines  
growing up the milky white walls. Some other girls   
were arriving also.   
As Lyra and Dame Olga stepped off the carriage   
with their luggage in hand, Lyra noticed the difference  
between her and the other girls. Each girl there  
carried more than four large, overstuffed bags. Each  
girl had a different, elegant purse and wore the latest   
knee-length skirts in every shade imaginable. Each had   
their hair done with care in an individual way. Their  
daemons were also lustrous and pretty.  
Lyra at once felt very out of place and alone.  
What was she to do? The group made their way inside to a large, airy hall with long tables with many girls seated at each. There were many beautiful flowers around the room and to the side, Lyra could see a stairway leading upstairs.   
"Lyra, why don't you take a seat while I get ready  
for my speech?" asked Dame Olga.  
Lyra did not know where to sit. She sat down at  
a table where only a few girls sat.   
"Hi. I'm so terribly sorry but I don't seem to   
remember you from the last term. What is your name?"  
a very pretty girl with deep blue eyes asked Lyra.  
"Oh, I wasn't here for last term. This is my  
first year here," Lyra answered nervously.  
"So, what is your name?"  
"Lyra..." She trailed off. She wondered if she   
should use her new name. "Lyra Silvertongue."  
"What a strange surname! I am Nicoletta   
Freceme. Did your mother cry when she left you?"  
"My mother's dead."  
"Oh! I'm sorry again. How awful! How do you   
get along without her? I know if my mother had passed  
away, I'd be pretty stupid in things girls must now.   
Did she die recently?" Nicoletta was starting to get  
on Lyra's nerves  
"She died giving birth."  
"How awfully awful. Oh no, there's Headmistress  
Adriana. We've nicknamed her 'the bitchy cliff ghast."  
As Nicoletta said this, the large headmistress, dressed  
in a dark long dress, walked to the podium in the front  
of the room.   
"Welcome, welcome! I trust you have had a  
wonderful summer holiday?" A slow murmur was her  
answer. "Good, good. Now, we must discuss our new  
rules and regulations of course. The rules are the   
same as last term, but, you are not allowed to cross  
out of school boundaries at all this year, this   
includes holidays," the headmistress said, stiffly.  
A chorus of "No's" could be heard throughout the   
hall. "May I present you to our guest speaker,   
Dame Olga?" Applause was minimal for Dame Olga.  
"What a frumpy, old woman with absolutely no   
stylistic sense!" exclaimed Nicoletta.  
"Good evening, all. We must welcome our new   
students and treat them with respect as we do our  
friends. Please study everyday and keep your grades up  
so you girls can make something of yourselves someday. W  
We will have charm school examinations this year as we  
did last year and have our regular exams as well. I  
must introduce some new teachers: Ms. Retluoc and  
Ms. Turnemy."  
Ms. Retluoc... Lyra thought. She resembled   
Ms. Coulter in her appearance but did not have the   
monkey daemon. Her daemon was a golden cat.   
"Ms. Retluoc will teach manners and   
fashion and Ms. Turnemy will be teaching mathematics   
in the higher levels..." Dame Olga droned on and on   
about the new teachers. Ms. Retluoc's eyes met Lyra's.   
Ms. Retluoc winked.   
What did this mean?  
*********  
  
Do you like? Please R/R. I know its really boring now,   
but I promise it'll get better. 


End file.
